Daylight savings- although welcome, can be stressful for children and parents. We know children thrive on routine, and when that is suddenly adjusted by an hour it can cause a lot of tears. Here’s our top 3 tips for making daylight savings time less stressful for any children who thrive on their schedule.

Cold and flu season is upon us. We know how stressful this can be to new parents (especially those looking for childcare for babies). Although we know that we can’t protect everyone from getting sick, we have a few methods for keeping our teachers and students as healthy as can be this cold and flu season.

Potty training, or learning if you’d prefer, can feel like a big job. It can feel intimidating as a parent to know exactly what to do and how to best prepare your child for success. Here’s our top 5 tips.

Shadowing is a great tool for adjusting behavior problems. It takes a LOT of work, but if done properly the results are worth it. We most commonly use this tool when we have a child who is biting, or otherwise trying to hurt their classmates. Here’s our guide on what shadowing is, and how to use it to adjust behaviors.

It’s almost a right of passage, everyone has a first day of school. It can be filled with all sorts of feelings. Some children are SO beyond excited! While others are feeling a little nervous for the big event. Here are our top 4 tips to make the first day of school go amazingly well for your preschooler.

When it comes to discipline with young children our philosophy is using positive guidance strategies. We redirect, catch them being good, and use the environment as a tool. With these combined methods we see happy classrooms, filled with happy children, making great choices. The best part? These are methods that work really well not just at school, but at home as well.

When your neighborhood preschool is the right fit, it’s amazing. But sometimes it’s just not quite right. Curriculum, experience, your need to work, and peace of mind may be 4 key reasons to reach beyond your neighborhood preschool.

The idea of hiring a parenting coach leaves many parents with some mixed emotions. On one hand, they are an expert in childcare, on the other you are an expert in your child. And shouldn’t parenting be instinctual and natural? After all you grew that child, and raised them to the point they are now.

At Bright Beginnings Learning Academy our children under 2 bring their own food daily. Probably the most common question we get is “What's a good first food to send to school?” or “What do I feed my toddler?”

We most often see 3 different ways people feed their babies as they start eating their first foods.

Art with young children is very similar and very different. When we see a master piece we are used to only observing the finished product. With young children the opposite is most important. The product they are left with is far less valuable than the process they went through to create it. With young children art is process oriented.

Guess what? You are raising the next generation. It’s an incredible honor, gift, and privilege that I get to do it with you. Together, I get to help countless families to nurture and grow the next group of humans. You likely raise them knowing that they will go on to do amazing things. You are raising community leaders, entrepreneurs, engineers, educators, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, and all sorts of other AMAZING paths. Right now these future community leaders are children.

In all seriousness- if someone is questioning your parenting you owe them no explanation. At Bright Beginnings we understand the complex emotions and logistics that going into being a working parent. It’s no easy task, but the lessons you are teaching your children are important. You make the best choices for your family, and that is all that matters.

When to starting is a personal decision to be made individually by families. We see two major reasons for starting school, but there are plenty of other reasons. In the end that questions is pretty personal to every unique family.

Engineering is a sometimes forgotten lesson. When we build, explore new materials, and create we our engineering. We are asking questions, solving problems, finding difficult solutions, all while playing.

Children are like sponges ready to soak up everything we have to teach them. Math and science are fluid and interlocked, so we typically teach these activities together. Use fun experiments to engage the children, and teach these concepts through play.

Art is a time for children to explore concepts beyond creating something beautiful. Art is a time for children to explore math and science concepts, in addition to confidence and independence. When we present art to children we want to be focused on the process, not the product. The children should have free range of the materials, and support to explore as they wish.

Mommy guilt, or daddy guilt, is a real thing. Our current social climate creates a frenzy of parents who want to be doing everything 100% correct all the time. That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself, and no doubt leads to feelings of guilt. I’m not sure if it has to do with the extensive research we have on caregiving, or the over-sharing of today’s digital parents- but the pressure to be perfect is overwhelming. Here’s my 5 top tips for avoiding mommy-guilt